Into the Eyes of the Beholder
by alexis.belt.7
Summary: The mirror of Erised shows you what you want the most, but twelve year old Fred and George didn't know that. They looked into it and just saw themselves. Now that Fred has died, George is looking into the mirror again, but not with the reflection he'd expect. ONE-SHOT!


**Hey! I know, another one-shot. I had to do it, though. Enjoy!**

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_Two boys of twelve ran through the halls of Hogwarts. They were mischievous, nut not that bad. It was indeed, though, that it was against the rules to be out and about at that time at night. Though they didn't know what they were going to find, they could feel it was something big. They kept a careful eye on the Marauder Map, which they stole from Filch when he wasn't looking, so they wouldn't get caught._

_Their names were Fred and George, they were twins. They belonged to the family of Weasleys; one of the only remaining pure blooded families of wizards, though they didn't flaunt it unlike the Malfoys. Being the fourth oldest sibling's in the family, they weren't very good role models for the younger ones._

_Fred (Though it could have been George) looked at the map and tapped his twin's shoulder rapidly. A hushed whisper of 'what' in annoyance fills the hallway. Fred yanks his brother's attention to the map. Black footsteps appeared to be walking right towards the twins. The name above the footprints, however, was Severus Snape._

_In a panicked hurry, they look around for an escape. George grabs Fred's arm and pulls him into a big, wooden door. They watch the map with anxious faces as Snape's footsteps go down the corridor. Sighing with relief, they layoff of the door. Then, they look around._

_Around the room were table's and objects covered in tarps. Dust covered about every inch of the room. Fred sneezes. Looking at each other, they run around looking at the objects. They found magnificent things like the very first broom, an elixir that could make you bald, and et cetera. That's when they stumbled upon the last object, a mirror._

_They pull the tarp off and stare at a six foot mirror. They blink, what was so important about a mirror? Looking into it, they see just themselves. They scour every detail of the mirror to find a secret lever or button that would amplify its 'awesomeness.' _

_But all they saw was themselves. Nothing else. George sighs in exasperation, what was so special about this mirror? They never found out, and instead, went back to the dormitories. What they didn't notice was the smiles that were on the boy's faces in the mirror compared to their own frowning ones._

George Weasley woke up in the burrow. He blinked to get the sleepy out of his eyes, but there wasn't much. Considering he didn't get even two hours of sleep, that is. He didn't get much sleep, he was too busy either: feeling guilty, comforting others, trying not to cry while comforting others, and crying his eyes out.

He hated crying, feeling so weak. George was used to being funny, uncaring about the thoughts of people around him. He repeatedly blinks his eyes as tears overflow them. He slams his door open and closed and runs down the stairs.

George almost ran into his mother, but besides him running into her, why was he devastated to see her? Maybe it's the fact her son just died a few months ago, or/plus the fact that George looked exactly like Fred. His eyes, his hair, his everything. They HAD been identical twins, after all.

His mother looks up to him slowly. Even if his parents wouldn't admit it, he did remind them of Fred. You could see it in their eyes. First the recognization as the pupils go wide, then the disappointment as the shrink back into their sockets, then their pupils dilating because they are still in shock.

George looks away quickly as the process goes through his mom's eyes. The only thing he sees as he apparates out of there is his mom reaching for him as the sudden 'pop' fills the air.

He landed somewhere in the woods of Hogwarts. He couldn't explain why he went there except for the fact he may have been thinking of his brother. Scratch that, he WAS thinking of his brother. George wouldn't deny it, there was nothing wrong with it. Well, except the fact that every time he mentioned his thoughts, everything got all quiet and awkward.

His friends all drifted away, even his own brothers. His own parents barely talked to him. The first night after Fred died; his mother had mistaken himself for Fred. It was so pathetic and heart wrenching it was sad. Not sad, but world shattering. It was like, the whole world stopped. The whole world stopped because of his brother that was gone. It was like, his happiness just radiated off of him, making everyone happy. But now that person was gone. He wasn't just gone, he was dead.

George looks up to Hogwarts, his eyes now brimming with tears. That mirror, although not doing anything then ago, now would fill a fraction of the hole inside him. It would remind him of an adventure with his brother. Something his brother would like to remember if he had been alive.

He snaps his fingers and closes his eyes as he apparates into Hogwarts. In truth, he hadn't expected it to work, but he had guessed that since Dumbledore helped the spell that repelled apparating (who was now gone) it didn't work anymore. No wonder death eaters got in so easily.

Death eaters, the name itself make George want to hurl. He hated their guts, but had a reason. A reason he didn't want to share. George opens his eyes, he was in the same hallway as in the dream. He smiled, almost. That should mean… _Aha!_ He thought. He saw the door. He barges into it.

Everything looked to be in the same place. That made George half-smile. He looked over the things, picking them up and remembering them from his last adventure here. He gingerly put everything back once he was finished, like a piece of his brother was embedded in the design it was already in.

He finally made it to the one thing that left a lasting impression on him from all those years ago. He grabs the tarp in his fists, it bunching over his knuckles. Then, with a sudden movement, he yanks it off. Now when George looked into the glass bordered with old ancient wood, he expected just to see himself, but that wasn't the case.

When he looked into that mirror, what he saw shocked him. What he saw was him, and behind him was a figure walking up. After the person walked a few steps, he finally saw who it was. It was Fred. George turns around quickly, hoping to see his brother, but he doesn't. He sees nothing. George then looks to the mirror again. Fred has finally made it up to him and he rests his elbow onto George's shoulder.

Another thing that shouldn't be there was the smile on both of their faces. George knew for a fact he wasn't smiling. 'Fred' looked over to 'George' and they hi-five. George touches the mirror and recoils at the coldness of the glass.

_Wait_. He thinks, backing away. He saw his dead brother. He only saw their reflections last time. He put two and two together. He paid attention in class, he just didn't act it. They had studied magical objects in class once, and the characteristics of this mirror…

It was the mirror of Erised. The mirror that showed you things you most desired. But that meant… that meant that when Fred and him were littler, they had everything they wanted. That thought brought a tear to George's eye, and this was the one time that he allowed himself to cry.

At first it was a dry sob, then he broke down on the ground crying. It wasn't out of sadness, but happiness that he could see his brother again, kinda. That was the first time in months George was happy.

He kept going there, you know, after he found it. George became happier, he got his friends back, his life was slowly getting back together. His family and friends wondered what had changed him, so they asked. He had laughed and said with a small smile, " I realized something I should have a long time ago."

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